How to Use the Usenet Master List

Harley Hahn's Master List of Usenet Newsgroups is the only annotated master list of Usenet newsgroups on the Internet. This is the place to come when you are looking for Usenet newsgroups for a specific purpose.

There are two easy ways to use Harley Hahn's Master List of Usenet Newsgroups. You can either search for keywords or display all the groups related to a specific topic.

1. Searching for Keywords

A keyword search enables you to look for newsgroups whose name or descriptions contain specific words (keywords). Simply enter one or more words in the search box and click on the GO button. You will then be shown all the newsgroups whose names or descriptions contain those words.

For example, to find all the groups having to do with football, search for the word "football".

Here is a hint. Start your search with a single word. If the results are too general, specify more words and narrow down your search.

As an example, let's say you are looking for a newsgroup in which people discuss classical guitar music. To start, you search for "music". This returns many different groups, so to refine your search, you try "music classical". You now see only a small number of newsgroups, one of which for classical guitar music.

Search Options

When you search for keywords, there are two options you can use.

• Match whole words / Match partial words

• Include adult groups in search

If you select "Match partial words", the results will include words that contain your keywords. For example, the keyword "cell" will match, not only "cell", but "miscellaneous" and "cellular".

If you choose to include the adult groups in your search, you may see groups in which people routinely discuss sexual topics of an explicit or obscene nature. These are also the groups where people share erotic photographs and videos.

2. Using the List of Topics

The second way to look for newsgroups is to display the names of all the newsgroups related to a particular topic. Simply click on a general category to look for the topic you want.

For example, say you want to find the poetry discussion groups. Start by clicking on on the general category most likely to contain poetry. In this case, it would be "Art and Creation".

After selecting "Art and Creation, look at the topics and pick the one you want. In this case, it would be "Poetry", under "Writing and Publishing".

Once you became familiar with the list of topics, you will find it easy to browse, even if you only have a vague idea of what you want.

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